The Pac-10 Championships may not be for another couple months,
but the UCLA swim team will get a preview this weekend of the
environment. The team will travel to the Husky Invitational this
weekend in Federal Way, Wash., which is where the conference
championships will be held in February.
“To get a lay of the land is good for the team to give the
kids a visual,” coach Cyndi Gallagher said.
The team’s newcomers will also have a chance to taste four
days of college-level racing, which will undoubtedly leave them
fatigued. “Four days of racing, that is what it will be like
at Pac-10’s and NCAA’s,” Gallagher said.
“They will be tired by the end of the meet, but it is good
for them.”
Meanwhile, the diving team will head to Austin, Texas, for the
Texas Invitational, hoping to continue their successes from last
year’s meet when the divers and swimmers joined to finish in
first place. But the swim team opted instead to familiarize
themselves with the sight of the Pac-10 Championships, something
that Gallagher feels is very beneficial to the team.
“We’re looking forward to the meet in
Washington,” Gallagher said. “We’ve had great
success at the Husky meet in the past.”
Along with the prospects for success, the swimmers are looking
forward to the one time this season they will all travel together
as a team.
Besides building unity and checking out the scene where
Pac-10’s will be held, the swimmers and Gallagher will look
to show off their skills to the club teams who are scheduled to
participate in the meet. “It is good for recruiting to show
our strengths and our depth,” Gallagher said.
As for the divers heading to Texas, they have a lot of momentum
from their domination against the tough Arizona schools, and they
hope to build off that throughout the entire weekend.
“My expectations are that they will perform at their
absolute best level,” diving coach Tom Stebbins said.
As evidenced by Amanda Blong’s effort against Arizona,
that level can be equal with some of the best divers in the
country. This weekend will determine whether the divers can
consistently be at that level.